PhotoDownUnder

Photography by Richard Edwards

I am an Australian Award Winning photographer based in Brisbane. I like to photograph life around me, whether that is people, landscapes or objects. I prefer to shoot with available light, although I have used studio lighting in the past.

Inspiration for my work is as diverse as the subjects of my photography. Although like most people, I do have my favourites: Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier Bresson, Max Dupain, just to name a few.

My photographic journey started at about the age of 13. My father dabbled in the art, developing and printing his own black and white images. I would often go into the dark room with him and marvel at the magic that would materialise from the chemical baths in the form of a wonderful black and white print.

My father passed away when I was 17, and I did not really think about photography after that until I met my wife. When she moved in with me, she bought along some wonderful framed black and white photographs of African wildlife that were given to her by a friend. These images remided me of those earlier years, and weeks later I purchased my first SLR camera. I set up a small dark room and started my photographic journey, dabbling in black & white and colour slide film. (the shutter-bug struck and has been with me since).

In 1998 I applied to do a Diploma of Photography at CIT in Canberra. I left work and studied full time photography for the next few years. During these study years, I held several exhibitions, both solo and group. As students we were also encouraged to enter competitions so that our peers could critique our work. In 1999 I entered 4 Images in the AIPP National Awards (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) and won 3 Silver and 1 Bronze Award. That year I was also awarded Student Of The Year by the ACT Branch of the AIPP. I entered 2 images in the University challenge and won first and second prize for black and white photographs. Most recently I have published a book tittled "USA 2012 A Photographic Journey".

It was never my intention to become a professional photographer but to hone my skills with a view of setting up a gallery later on in life. 17 years later that dream still exists, and with the fast changes to technology and the age of digital, this website is part of that process. I want to focus on photography as an art form, more so than as a tool for advertising. Part of that art form is to create portraits of people.

My Tools of Trade.

During my years of studying I used Mamiya 6x7 mostly for studio work, a Pentax Z1p 35mm for general photography and landscapes, and a 4x5 field camera. Digital photography was just gaining momentum, but to be honest it did not really take with me. The cameras of the day (that were affordable to me) were mediocre to say the least. The quality digital backs and high end digital camera's were certainly out of my reach, and besides I did not understand the tools or have the skills for digital editing at that time.

My first DSLR Camera was a Nikon D90, which I purchased while on holiday in Tasmania in 2007. Its a shame I bought it towards the end of the trip, because I missed out on photographing some of Australia's finest landscape scenes. My wife now uses that camera and she loves it.

I upgraded to a Nikon D700 in 2008, chasing more pixels and that magical full frame sensor. The D700 is complimented with a few prime lenses: 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, 105mm Macro f2.8 and a couple of Zooms, 70-200 VRII f2.8 and a 17-35mm f2.8. This camera-lense combination is very good, but the draw backs for me are the size and weight of the gear. This realy came to light on a trip to the USA in 2012, not to mention the excess baggage fee's.

After a lot of research and some recommendations I decided to go to a Leica System. I purchased an M9 and most recently an MP. I use a 50mm Summilux, a 35mm Summicron and a 21mm Zeis Biogon. These lenses are excellent! The cameras as well are excellent tools. I cannot speak highly enough of them. AND I am back shoot film, the medium of choice for me.

I use Lightroom and Photoshop Elements as my main tools for editing. a couple of other software packages I use are: Silver Effects Pro for B&W work, and various other NIK software for colour work. These software packages work fine for me. I also still develop my own black and white film.

Please enjoy the images in this website, and feel free to contact me..

Respect my Copyright and do not copy any of the images. If you want to share them with friends, do so via copying the web link in your browser or via the social media tools located below.

All the very best,

Regards Richard

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